running the ropes
Where creativity meets professional wrestling.
Every post is built from real experience, inside the ring and behind the desk. Gear, branding, image, marketing, everything that shapes how a wrestler looks and feels to the world.
This is where the visual side of the business gets the attention it deserves.
The Lucha Libre Mask as a Logo, Designing for Longevity
What can El Santo, Blue Demon, and the Wagner dynasty teach us about building a brand that lasts? In Mexican lucha libre, a mask is more than a disguise: it’s an identity, a legacy, and an asset worth protecting. Discover five branding lessons from the masks that have stood the test of time.
How to Design Your First Lucha Libre Mask:
Before you pick a color or a fabric, decide who your mask belongs to. A beginner's guide to what a lucha libre mask means, how patterns make it recognizable, and where to start.
Building a Wrestling Character: What Happened When We Taught It Live
Most wrestling characters don't fail because of their gear, their name, or their entrance.
They fail because nobody ever stopped to ask the right questions first.
A couple of weeks ago, we spent two hours live with the begginer class from Hero Pro Wrestling and Dream Pro Wrestling, walking through our Wrestling Character Creation Guide from beginning to end.
Not to create their characters for them, but to explain why every question matters.
Because before you choose the name, the colours, the mask, the gear or the catchphrase, there is a much more important question to answer:
Why does this character get in the ring, and what should people feel when they do?
That’s where everything starts.
Download the free guide, put your character to the test, and see what still holds up when you start asking better questions.
Why, How, What: How to Write a Wrestling Promo That Doesn't Sound Like an Ad
Most wrestling promos fail for the same reason most ad pitches fail: they lead with what happens instead of why it matters. Chakao breaks down Simon Sinek's Why-How-What framework and applies it directly to the mic.
The Brand That Cracked Wrestling
Every few months a brand drops a wrestling collab, and most of them miss. In 2002, NIGO — the designer behind BAPE — took a different route, building his brand directly into the world of All Japan Pro Wrestling instead of just printing it on a shirt. The result: a lesson in the difference between invading a world and understanding it.
The problem with wrestling merch (and why I built a fix)
A book about patent drawings changed how I saw the mask, the ring, and the bell. This is the wrestling t-shirt collection it inspired, three limited-edition designs built with real technical craftsmanship.
How to design wrestling gear on a budget (without looking amateur)
A question from the comments took me back to my debut run: no budget, no gear, no clue. Here's what I learned about building a wrestler's look from nothing, why John Cena, Darby Allin and Orange Cassidy prove basic doesn't mean thoughtless, and why the concept always matters more than the price tag.
A Full Season of Posters for Resist Pro Wrestling
Every poster for Resist Pro Wrestling started with one question: why does this need to exist? A full season recap of concept, branding, and the design process that connects a poster to everything that comes after it, titantrons, teasers, and the identity of the show itself.
Good Posters Sell Tickets
10 years as an Art Director. Active professional wrestler.
There aren't many people who can talk about wrestling poster design from both sides, the creative brief and the locker room.
So I did.
Why wrestler photos matter more than you think, what a concept actually means in this context, and why a bad poster can kill a show that deserved a full building.
Most Wrestlers Are Asking the Wrong Question About Their Entrance
Most wrestlers ask "what should my titantron look like?" Wrong question. Here's the one that actually matters, and a full breakdown of how I used it to build mine.
The Lost Art of Titantrons: How Wrestling Entrance Videos Stopped Telling Stories
Most wrestling entrance videos are doing one of two things right now. Telling a story, or just taking up screen time.
This is a breakdown of how titantrons evolved, where they lost the plot, and what separates the ones that still hit different from the ones you forget before the first bell rings.
Wrestling merch that doesn’t look like wrestling merch & That's Why It Works.
My best-selling shirt doesn't lead with my name, my catchphrase, or anything you'd expect from a wrestling tee. It leads with intention. In Part 3 of the Create Your Wrestler Merch series, I break down every decision behind a design that sells to the die-hard fan and the complete stranger equally, and what that means for how you should be thinking about your own merch.
Merch that stops people’s eyes Here's How to Make Sure It Does.
Most wrestlers design their merch for the fans they already have.
Most wrestlers design their merch for the fans they already have. That's exactly why it stops selling there. In Part 2 of the Create Your Wrestler Merch series, we break down what it actually means to design with intent — how to build a shirt that works for the die-hard fan at the show and the stranger who's never heard your name. Because your merch table is your brand. It's time to treat it like one.
What Merch Should You Actually Make?
Before you spend a dollar on wrestling merch, you need to answer one question: what do you actually have to work with?
Before you spend a dollar on wrestling merch, you need to answer one question: what do you actually have to work with? Not every product is right for every wrestler, and the wrong choice is money you're not getting back. This is Part 1 of the Create Your Wrestler Merch series: how to read your own brand and build from what's already strong.
Stop Filming Boring Promos
Same Wrestler. Different Gears
